


Rescue

by Neverever



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Crushes, M/M, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25500244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: Captain Rogers is missing and Tony is determined to find him, for reasons.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 69
Collections: 2020 Cap/Iron Man Tiny Reverse Bang





	Rescue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [TRB Art 2020 - Crash/Found](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25291300) by [felisnocturna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/felisnocturna/pseuds/felisnocturna). 



Five days since Rogers left on patrol and he hadn’t returned yet. 

Obadiah called off the search parties during a council meeting and declared the matter at an end.

Tony wasn’t allowed to attend the council meetings, even if his father had founded the mining colony. Obadiah promised him that next year he’d be on the council, the year after that he’d running the colony with Obadiah, and then Obadiah would retire. But all Tony heard was after the next vibranium run, when you’re ready, next year.

“What did Obadiah say about Rogers?” Tony asked Rhodey after he saw the councilors file out of the meeting room.

Rhodey pulled Tony away before they could be seen. Tony’s best friend in the universe didn’t trust Obadiah as far as he could throw him. “The Third Sunroom,” he whispered to Tony.

They snuck through extensive corridors, full of miners and scientists milling about, past storerooms and one of the huge mineral refineries. They wound their way up to the Third Sunroom, a window-filled room overlooking the expansive grey deserts of Starkia. Rhodey and Tony would be left alone in this room for now. The crowds would come later at night to eat and marvel at the stars or the setting suns.

“Obadiah says Rogers is dead and we’re not searching for him,” Rhodey said. “He said it had to be the Triagor.”

“No,” Tony replied automatically. “That’s impossible. Captain Rogers can do anything.”

Tony had only seen the Captain twice in his short life. He’d seen the Captain sail through the air in his solar plane, the large blue wings unfolded to soak up the sunlight that powered his flight. The delicate and beautiful plane hovered above him on the Wall that kept the colony safe from the constantly attacking alien Triagor. All Tony had wanted at that time was to fly with the Captain, to see more of the world he’d been born on. 

He had met the Captain a month before his father’s death. Howard had taken Tony on a tour of the colony’s defences and they spent a night in the Outpost, the center of the flight corps that protected the colony. The Flight Corps was peopled with humans and non-humans who were altered to handle the harsh atmosphere of Starkia, rendering them unable to live within the colony. That’s what Tony had heard from his earliest days. 

“Tony, here is Captain Rogers,” Howard said as he introduced Tony to the well-loved savior of the colony. 

Rogers had shaken Tony’s hand warmly and showed him around, patiently answering all of Tony’s excited questions. Tony finally saw up close the graceful solar planes he’d watched from the windows of the colony sunrooms since he was a baby. “I’d give anything to fly one of these,” he confessed to Rogers. 

Rogers smiled as he looked up at his solar plane. The blue wings were marked with a star and bars, Rogers’ personal insignia. “Best feeling in the world.” 

“What’s it like?”

“I can take you up if you want,” Rogers offered. 

“Another time,” Howard said as he walked up to them. “Business first.”

Tony never did get his promised flight. That night he dreamed as he always did about flying, but now he dreamed about Rogers too. About his bright smile, his confidence, his large hands. Tony had returned home with a crush.

Now Rogers was missing. 

“No, this is wrong,” Tony said. “Rogers has saved the colony a lot of times. We can’t give up on him.”

“I can send out some people, just in case they see anything,” Rhodey said. He was in charge of the inner defenses of the colony. “Only for a short time though, we’re not built for being outside for a long time, not like the Flight Corps. Obadiah won’t like it either.”

“Do what you can, Rhodey,” Tony said. He nearly choked up thinking of Rogers out there in the harsh desert. No one had survived more than three nights out there. 

Rhodey clasped Tony’s shoulder. “If anyone can make it, it’s Rogers.”

~~~

Tony couldn’t sleep and working in his personal workshop didn’t bring him any peace. He thought about Rogers. 

Beeping and chirping, Dum-E bumped into him a couple of times when he stopped to think over what had happened to the Captain. “I can’t play now,” Tony replied as he patted the robot’s head. He was absorbed in studying Rogers’ flight plans. Rogers had been patrolling not far from the colony’s northeastern corner of the wall, where the Triagor had recently been seen. Tony cross-checked the weather and terrain maps as well as data from the wall cameras.

“Still daylight, Dum-E,” Tony said. He jumped to his feet. “Got to go now. I’ve found him.”

Tony threw on his red and gold protective outfit he used when he went into the mines and grabbed his experimental jet boots. If he was right -- and he was often very, very right about all sorts of things -- Tony had found where Steve had crashed.

He grabbed a powered scooter to take him to the eastern wall, an hour’s trip. Anxiety ate away at him as he rushed as fast as he could. When he got to the wall, he needed to find the old stairs to get outside to the maintenance platform.

Once outside, Tony took out his binoculars. The suns were close to setting in two hours and he could see two Triagor ships in the distance. “Come on,” he whispered to himself. “My calculations said you were here.”

He whooped with joy when he spotted the blue wings with stars from Rogers’ solar plane in the distant sands. He jumped into the air and triggered his jet boots. Tony hadn’t used the boots for flight outside his workshop. But he knew they’d work.

He soared into the air and towards the crashed plane. Once he reached the plane, he checked for life signs. Nothing, but Tony didn’t expect to find any. Rogers had likely sought out the sunken caves not far from the plane Tony had found in the terrain maps.

He scanned the area, looking for the signs of the caves. There, right there, was a life sign, faint but still alive.

Landing outside the cave, Tony dug through the piled-up, rough, grey sand, hoping that he wasn’t too late at all. 

“You found me,” Rogers said in a weak voice. 

Rogers was curled up near a spent fire. He managed somehow to put a splint on his broken leg. But neatly stacked food wrappers told Tony that he might have come too late.

“I’m going to radio for help,” Tony said. “The Triagor are not far --”

“Don’t,” Rogers said, his voice cracking. “No. Obadiah.”

Tony searched frantically in his pockets for water pills which the colonists used instead of carrying water bottles. Tony regretted not preparing better for rescuing. He finally found one at the bottom of his pocket. “Here,” he pushed the pill into Steve’s hand.

“Thank you, Master Stark.”

“That’s my father,” Tony replied automatically. “He was the colony master -- I’m just Tony.”

“I haven’t heard any differently -- you are the Master now since your father passed. That’s what the Flight Corps call you.” Rogers swallowed the pill.

“We need help. Rhodey can --”

Color was now returning to Rogers’ face. “We can call Sam at the Flight Corps. Then the Triagor.”

“What? The Triagor are the enemy --”

Rogers shook his head as he attempted to prop himself up. “They are our allies against the Hydra. We’ve been working together -- I told Regent Obadiah myself last month that the Triagor needed our help. The Corps found a way to talk to them.” Rogers settled for leaning against the wall of the cave. 

Tony’s head was spinning. “He said --”

“Nothing.”

“But the Triagor shot you down --”

Rogers suddenly looked sad. “It wasn’t them -- it was someone from the colony.”

Rhodey had warned Tony that something was wrong. He and Pepper had found signs that Obadiah was plotting. Tony hadn’t believed them. But if they hadn’t told him, Tony would not have been ready to believe Rogers.

“Oh,” Tony sat down.

“Just Tony,” Rogers said. “Could I use your communicator?”

“It’s Tony.” Tony handed over his comm to Rogers. 

“Steve,” Rogers answered. He carefully pushed the buttons on the communicator. “There, Sam knows we’re alive. Now for the Triagor.”

“Who’s Steve? The Triagor?”

“Me, I’m Steve,” Steve replied. He smiled at Tony in a way that made Tony dizzy. 

“Steve,” Tony said slowly. “Good name.”

“I’m glad you came for me, Tony. I’ve always wanted to see you again since we met last year.”

Tony’s face felt red. He looked at Steve, who clearly could see Tony’s blushing. “What now?”

“The Triagor will take us back to the Outpost.”

“And we get to the bottom of Obadiah’s dealings,” Tony said.

“Among other things,” Steve said. “I owe you for rescuing me.”

Surprising himself as he said it, Tony blurted out, “I can think of a reward.”

Steve chuckled. “I can guess. But I need sleep and food and water first.”

A loud noise outside the cave told Tony that the Triagor had arrived. Tony felt nervous until Steve stumbled to his feet and took Tony’s hand. Drawing on Steve’s confidence, friendship and easy smile, Tony squared his shoulders, ready for whatever happened next.


End file.
